A Recent History of Celebrity Chef TV Cameos

As the line between scripted television and reality programming continues to blur, so too has the distinction between celebrity chef and television star. Which is probably why so many well-known faces of the culinary world have been popping up all over your television screens lately, most often playing themselves (or at least a version of the television version of themselves).

From reality cooking-show winners, judges, and hosts to well-rounded chefs with a flair for the dramatic, food-world stars are breaking out from behind the burner for guest roles on shows like Gossip Girl, The Simpsons, and Treme. Here, we take a look at 14 of the most memorable celebrity-chef TV cameos in recent years, ranked to help you decide whether it’s worth investing in their (limited) screen time.

1. Gordon Ramsay

Show: ExtrasTime on screen: 50 seconds
Memorable line: “Haven’t you had enough cheese sandwiches, fat boy?”
In July of 2007, Ricky Gervais made a guest appearance on Gordon Ramsay's British (and actually good) reality series, The F Word. In December of that same year, Ramsay repaid the favor by playing himself in "The Extra Special Series Finale" of Gervais' HBO series, where Gervais plays a background artist (a.k.a., movie extra) who hits the big time when he lands a TV series. In the scene, Gervais—playing Andy Millman—attempts to enlist the hot-tempered chef's help in getting him a table at London's hottest restaurant. When Ramsay refuses, a slew of putdowns ensues, with Ramsay emerging as the unsurprisingly victor.

2. Anthony Bourdain

Show: The SimpsonsTime on screen: 40 seconds
Memorable line: “There’s nowhere I won’t go and nothing I won’t eat…as long as I’m paid in emeralds and my hotel room has a bidet that shoots warm champagne.”
After finding success with The Three Mouthketeers, a food blog she writes with Bart and Lisa, Marge begins to worry that she's alienating Homer. Her anxiety manifests itself in a dream sequence in which Homer rides off into the sunset with a variety of celebrity chefs, including the Swedish Chef. But not before Marge, the kids, and Anthony Bourdain get to tangle with some street food.

3. Emeril Lagasse

Show:TremeTime on screen: Three minutes
Memorable line: “Fuck you, chef. That’s the way it is.”
We're not sure how Anthony Bourdain has time to tie his own shoes, but in addition to his various gigs as a TV host and speaker, he has managed to contribute as a writer to Treme over the past few years. One episode he helped out with is 2012's "Promised Land," in which Janette asks Emeril Lagasse's advice on how to deal with success. It's a powerful scene—and well-played by Lagasse—who talks about the responsibility that comes with building a culinary empire. Bourdain told The Times-Picayune, "Ever since I met the off-camera Emeril, I've wanted to write a scene for him—where he's like he appears in this episode. Older, 'darker,' sadder, with the burden of years of responsibility for hundreds of people—an empire—on his shoulders. But also generous and loyal to his friends."

4. Tom Colicchio

Show: The SimpsonsTime on screen: 40 seconds
Memorable line: “Your ratio of peanut to cracker was spot on.”
Tom Colicchio got animated for a 2011 episode of The Simpsons, "The Falcon and the D'ohman." He mocks himself as the host of Master Chef: Extreme Snack Edition, in which Marge's peanut butter and cracker sandwich—with a thin slice of apple—wins her the grand prize: a new kitchen (which Colicchio himself transforms into). The chef gets additional props for knocking his short-lived soul patch.

5. Masaharu Morimoto

Show: Hawaii Five-0Time on screen: Two minutes
Memorable line: “I’m just testing my new karaoke machine.”
Masaharu Morimoto is really just a prop in the opening sequence of "Ma Ke Kahakaito," a 2011 episode of Hawaii Five-0 in which a commercial fisherman is killed and one of the fish that is soon to be Morimoto's nightly special holds the evidence to find the killer. The Iron Chef isn't given much more to do than point and nod, but his karaoke rendition of "What a Wonderful World" does open the episode.

6. Eric Ripert

Show: TremeTime on screen: 40 seconds
Memorable line: "Now you are the woman who threw drinks at Alan Richman’s face."
After throwing a Sazerac in food critic Alan Richman's face, Treme's fictional chef Janette is in need of a job—so naturally she turns to one of her former diners—Eric Ripert, playing himself—for help. He hires her. Ripert even let the series' film crew shoot in the kitchen of Le Bernadin, giving the scenes there an extra dose of vérité.

7. Wolfgang Puck

Show:CSITime on screen: Five minutes
Memorable line: "What's the most indispensable tool in your kitchen?"
Wolfgang Puck has never met a TV show he hasn't been willing to guest star on. For almost as long as he's been cooking, he's been popping up—as himself—in a variety of television shows and movies, going all the way back to Who's the Boss? and Tales from the Crypt. In October, he took on a starring role in the "Last Supper" episode of CSI, playing himself as the host of a fictional reality cooking show in which the remains of one of the show's eliminated contestants are used as an ingredient in a later episode. And you thought hearing "Please pack your knives and go!" was harsh!

8. Gail Simmons

Show: Royal PainsTime on screen: 30 seconds
Memorable line: "The drinks are free, right?”
Lakshmi's Top Chef cohort, Gail Simmons, fares much better in the acting arena. Even though she plays herself in the "Can of Worms" episode of Royal Pains, her delivery is much more natural than Lakshmi's. And her love of a stiff drink is to be commended.

9. Padma Lakshmi

Show:30 RockTime on screen: Three minutes
Memorable line: "I invented this new bag that you put around a sandwich to keep it fresh. But it’s clear, so you still get the visual of the sandwich."
Before she became famous as the host of Top Chef, Padma Lakshmi really did try to make a go as an actress. Her short-lived run included a gig in Glitter and an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. It wasn't good. Then the food world came calling, and most of her non-Bravo resume since has required only that she play herself—which was the direction of a guest spot on 30 Rock in which Jack (Alec Baldwin) considers replacing Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) with Lakshmi. She tries her best to hit the show's comedic high points, but she doesn't come close.

10. David Chang and Wylie Dufresne

Show:TremeTime on screen: One minute
Memorable line: Chang: “Looks like you’re recovering nicely.” Dufresne: “We’re psyched to be in your hands.”
For four seasons, food has been at the forefront of Treme, David Simon's portrait of post-Katrina New Orleans, which ends its series run this weekend. And the show has enlisted the assistance of a series of well-known chefs in varying capacities, including Anthony Bourdain as a writer, Emeril Lagasse and Eric Ripert as guests (more on that to come). Season three's "Knock with Me - Rock With Me" episode packed a culinary guest star wallop when Tom Colicchio, Eric Ripert, David Chang, and Wylie Dufresne did a chef-y thing and dropped in unannounced to dine together at Janette's restaurant.

11. Bobby Flay

Show:EntourageTime on screen: 40 seconds
Memorable line: "I'm not hiding, Ari."
It's lucky for Bobby Flay that he was able to let Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) do most of the talking in this episode. In the HBO series' final season, Ari and his wife (a.k.a., Mrs. Ari) separate and the chef—whom Ari calls "a genetic mistake"—gets in the middle. He may not have set the acting world on fire, but Flay did contribute a major piece to the Entourage puzzle by finally giving Mrs. Ari a first name: Melissa.

12. Paul Qui

Show:Royal PainsTime on screen: Two minutes
Winning Top Chef led to an acting gig for season nine champ Paul Qui as well. Well, sort of. He appears in an episode of Royal Pains in which he plays himself—and cooks—at the Hamptons Food Festival. Translation: It wasn't much of a stretch.

13. Michael Voltaggio

Show:SuburgatoryTime on screen: One minute, 30 seconds
Memorable line: "I lambed it this morning."
Top Chef season six winner Michael Voltaggio plays a, well, top chef who is putting together an 18-course, $600 Valentine's Day dinner that includes a dish of pork belly and veal tongue hash "finished with shards of micro-beak in a freshly-lambed foam." When George (Jeremy Sisto) questions the use of "lamb" as a verb, Voltaggio speaks his only line of the episode (see above).

14. April Bloomfield

Show: Gossip GirlTime on screen: Two minutes
Memorable line: "Entrees are almost ready, but I've run out of ice, and I need the ice to finish off my dessert and my special cocktail."
April Bloomfield's most memorable line in the "Salon of the Dead" episode of Gossip Girl is also her only line. For most of her screen time, she's busy doing what she does best—cooking—as she prepares a British-themed feast for new couple Blair Waldorf and Dan Humphrey. It may not have earned her an Emmy nod, but at least it made for some nice publicity for one half of the duo behind The Spotted Pig, The Breslin, The John Dory, and Salvation Taco.

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